Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.
—Questioner
Dear Questioner, this relates to my answer just the other day… moving to Illinois, where we had no friends or family other than my mom & stepdad, who were truck drivers & never home. The Oklahoma we left behind was markedly different than what it has become over the last decade in so many ways. Several times I have been reflective of the past, or confronted by events, in which I have pondered where we would be had we not left Oklahoma.
Mostly, I think about what Roegn would be like had we not left. First, she would have a southern accent. Honestly, that would have annoyed me, but wouldn’t have been irreconcilable. Second, I would have had a more difficult time battling the ‘Republican mindset’ as we would have been surrounded by family & friends that were on the right. That would have made 2016 intolerable. I mean, that’s why I’m not on facebook much anymore • 2016 was the beginning of a chasm between myself & many of my friends and family.
Explore Yourself
“Self Portrait Study, me drawing myself. The only way to truly know yourself is to study & examine yourself from every conceivable angle. But you must also keep in mind that we are never the same person from one moment to the next.”
by: Amber Ryder
Third, she would not have had the freedom to swim through her identity as she grew up. As we saw with the death of Nex Benedict, people who are different are bullied with impunity in Oklahoma. Roe has always been influenced excessively by her environment, which is why she didn’t go to public school – even here in Illinois. It took me over 18 years to help her understand that she is worthy of being herself & not someone others want her to be (even me). I honestly believe that had we stayed in Oklahoma she would have been hit from every side NOT to be who she wanted to be, but to be what THEY wanted her to be.
In that instance, I would have been forced to be overtly leftist & probably would have been more radical in order to balance the information coming from family, school, church, local government, and the news.
The risk? We moved to a place where we didn’t have friends, family, or know anyone within a 3 hour drive… eventually more, closest being 6 hours away. This was not new to me, as I was raised a nomad, and because of that attempted to keep my daughter in the same place for most of her upbringing. Oddly enough, all the positives I had heard about growing up in one place ended up not being what my daughter experienced, but that’s another story for a different time.
∞Cecelia
sustain.able.future 